Land and Sea

[MnAsMom]

Our family and my hubby's cousin and family are considering a land and sea vacation. What is the best time for a Disney 3 or 4 night cruise (want nice weather) and also a good time for Disney World? We would love to go when it is not too crowded and also not blistering hot either!

 

Is it better to do the land portion first or the cruise first? I am thinking land first then cruise... get the intensive walking done and then get to relax while the kids enjoy the kids program on the ship!

 

would you do a 3 day or a 4 day? Is it worth it to get a balcony?

 

Thanks

[Magic3forme]

Sept is a great time for both, and it is more off season. October is good too. We went in Feb and the water was too cold.

 

When we did it, it was 3 days at Disney, then a 4 day cruise.

3 day cruise, then 4 days at Disney.

this may have changed since 05.

 

I personally think the balconies are worth the extra money. It was great to be out there when you left an island. :)

[MC-AZ-07]

The Passporter guide (or was it one of the others?) recommended May so we did that.

 

I found it was cheaper to plan the land/sea parts separately myself. We wound up with 4 days in the parks then a 4 day cruise. I do think relaxing after the parks will be great. We leave Tues.!

 

Balconies being worth it, that's really subjective. I guess it depends how much the extra $$$ means to each of us, and how much the joy of the balcony. I didn't splurge this time though I have on prior cruises. The DCL cruise itself was a splurge in my opinion. I kinda look at it like this... not getting the balcony this time probably 'paid for' our whole 4 days in the parks, and hotel, and airfare. So I'll need to get my butt out on the decks this time, much as I love private views, especially in bed.

[Zesty Italian]

We first visited Disney in Sep 01 and the parks were Hot. Did a 3day land 4day sea in Feb 04. It was a bit cool at the park because of some rain. The cruise was plenty warm enough without being uncomfortable. Also did a 7 day cruise end of Oct. 06. Again, it was warm. I wouldn't recommend going to the parks Mar-Oct if you don't want Hot. I would say do 3days in the park followed by 4 days at sea. The cruise is great and a nice time after the excitement of the parks. We heard a lot of people say they wished the cruise was longer (including us):) Didn't have a balcony so can't comment. Enjoy!

[Host Mick]

...

Is it worth it to get a balcony?

 

Thanks

 

Here's my distillation of thousands of balcony question responses:

 

Half-full people: " I had a balcony and I liked it because I could sit out there in the morning and sip my coffee" or "I had an inside stateroom and I liked it because I didn't spend much time in there anyway with all that's going on around the ship."

 

Half-empty people: "I had a balcony but it wasn't worth it because I didn't spend any time in there. I could have bought a lot more umbrella drinks with the money" or "The inside stateroom was claustrophobic and so dark that we couldn't tell if it was day or night."

 

You're welcome.

[snoodel]

My family did the land/sea vacation in Sept/Oct of 2002. We did the land first, then the cruise. We trully loved it. Very relaxing on the ship after the stress of trying to hit all the parks in 3 days. (we actually added a day at the begining to get the most out of it)

We talked to alot of people, and decided to do the end of Sept. Begining of Oct time frame. It was cheaper too. Just had to call the kids off from school for a few days..

[owensjro]

I'm not sure if you can do this with a Land and Sea package or if you would have to book them separately but WDW is offering free dining in late August/September this year when you purchase the magic your way ticket and room package. We took advantage of this a couple of years ago and it saved a considerable amount of money.

 

As someone else mentioned, it is still hot in September. And you also run more of a risk of hurricanes.

 

We prefer to visit the parks in January.

 

Jim

[kat89447]

We did Land and Sea in 2005 at the end of July/beginning of Aug. There was only one really hot day at Epcot, but with all of the pavement it always seems hot there. Prefer the 4 day cruise because of the sea day. The trip is very overwhelming for kids, so much to do, so little time, that it was nice to have the extra down day on the boat. We also did a balcony and it was very worth it with a child (DD 7 at the time). We were in early most nights (9 pm) because she was exhausted and we (DH and I) spent alot of time on the balcony while she napped and slept. We also spent lots of time, all of us, watching dolphins that followed the ship. That is still one of our favorite things we saw. I do suggest if you do the L and S that you consider the Animal Kingdom Lodge for your land part. That place is amazing and completely relaxing after a day in the parks. There is something very cool about coming home to critters wandering outside your balcony, we left our balcony open so we could hear them calling to each other. Disney is an experience completely different from any other cruise, In my opinion, and one you will talk about for years. Have a blast.

[Muushka]

Here's my distillation of thousands of balcony question responses:

 

Half-full people: " I had a balcony and I liked it because I could sit out there in the morning and sip my coffee" or "I had an inside stateroom and I liked it because I didn't spend much time in there anyway with all that's going on around the ship."

 

Half-empty people: "I had a balcony but it wasn't worth it because I didn't spend any time in there. I could have bought a lot more umbrella drinks with the money" or "The inside stateroom was claustrophobic and so dark that we couldn't tell if it was day or night."

 

You're welcome.

;) Perfect analogy!

 

December is also a pretty good time to cruise. The parks are decorated as well as the ship and it is not as expensive to cruise at that time of year. The swimming might be questionable (unless you are from Alaska :D) but it won't be hot.

 

I would also suggest doing a 4 night because it is an awful lot of trouble to go through for just 3 nights. We did a 4 nighter and were very pleased. We have done 7 nights and for us, it is borderline too long (I know, crazy :eek:).

 

I also agree with the parks and then cruise. But for those seasoned Disney-philes (which we are) we did a 7 night cruise followed by 4 nights at Disney last Christmas. It was great. The cruise got us all mellow and when we got to the parks we just soaked up the atmosphere.:)